UK prepares for contactless travel revolution

Contactless cards and mobile devices could soon become a primary payment method for transit journeys across the UK under a smart ticketing initiative unveiled in Parliament.

The framework, developed by the UK Cards Association, enables transport operators across the country to implement contactless payments on local pay-as-you-go journeys, including single trips, such as a bus journey, or combined travel on more than one type of transport.

A further tranche of funding has now been provided by the rail operators for a joint project between the card and rail industry exploring how contactless cards and devices could be associated with long-distance train tickets or season tickets, so passengers no longer have to print out tickets.

Melanie Johnson, chair of The UK Cards Association, says: “This framework sets out how contactless payments can be used to support any journey, whether a single bus ride or a cross-country trip. We are excited we have been asked by the transit industry to continue the project to help them understand how payment cards can be used for advance purchases and season tickets.”

Comments: (1)

2022-25 is not "soon", but we all know what a thousand miles journey starts with. There are still a lot of issues - political and psychological ones - to address as simply replacing one technology (ITSO) with another (cEMV) is not a solution per se.

There are other efforts in that area that will lead the way: making bold and loud political statements has never been hard, making things actually work - IS.